Irish Hemlock
by Anastacia Lynn
Summary: A sheltered girl, Guinevere (Gwen) O'Malley has discovered she has strange powers at the same time girls in her town are ending up ripped to pieces. And suddenly the town "prince", Roman Godfrey starts to pursue Gwen as his next conquest. Like Gwen's life wasn't bad enough!
1. Chapter 1

Irish Hemlock

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of its characters. I do own Guinevere (Gwen) O'Malley.

 **Never watch Carrie, the original 1976 version, followed by a binge of season one of Hemlock Grove. You end up with an idea for a fanfic with an original character with a similar upbringing as Carrie falling for the sleepy-eyed Upir known as Roman Godfrey. The story will follow season one pretty close, but will stray with season two. I wasn't fond of Miranda's character, her reaction to Roman and Peter's supernatural abilities was too whiney. And the way season three ended just sucked. So don't be surprised if I disregard season three entirely.**

Gwen walked down the sidewalk of one of the many streets in Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania. She had just passed The Nutty Chocolatier, the local candy store, when she heard quiet noises in the parking lot out back. Her curiosity got the better of her and she wandered behind the buildings to see what it was she was hearing.

There was only one car in the whole parking lot; a 1959 Jaguar XK150S Roadster, Roman Godfrey's car. There in the front seat was Roman Godfrey, himself, only there was a woman sitting on his lap. She was topless and facing him while bouncing up and down. Roman's eyes were looking down at his lap when suddenly, as if sensing he was being watched, he looked up and over the woman's shoulder directly at Gwen. Meeting her eyes, Roman smiled and winked causing Gwen to blush and scurry away.

* * *

The prostitute had just left and Roman still sat in his car thinking about who he had seen while he was fulfilling one of his fantasies. It was shear good fortune that little miss innocent had happened by his car during his tryst. Guinevere O'Malley had caught his attention during the last school year when he overheard her and his cousin, Letha, talking about something or another. It was the first time Roman had really looked at her, Gwen that is, and he liked what he saw.

It was obvious to anyone that the girl was a virgin. Her innocence bled from every pore. She wore shirts with high necklines and either short or long sleeves; never sleeveless or spaghetti straps. She always wore skirts that never once went higher than her knee. The girl's overly religious grandmother refused to allow her granddaughter to wear anything that showed the slightest bit of skin. The old woman probably thought these clothes would somehow keep the granddaughter's male classmates from having any interest in the girl. Sadly, the granny was mistaken. It seemed the more Gwen covered, the more the boys, Roman included, wanted to see what she covered. It was just too much of a challenge for them to resist.

The old fashioned clothes couldn't, however, hide how beautiful the girl was. She had strawberry blond hair that was of mix of blond, auburn, and ginger strands that blended to create a masterpiece of color that flowed down the girls back. Her skin was a perfect porcelain without a single freckle, and her eyes were a striking ivy.

The clothes also didn't completely hide the teen's curves. Roman could easily imagine what the girl looked like without her prudish outfits. The thought alone had his erection renewed.

But, what intrigued Roman the most happened two months after Gwen had caught his interest.

 _Roman had tried several times over the past two months to flirt with Gwen with little to no results. He first tried offering her a ride home and she merely replied that she knew what he did with the girls he gave rides to and she wasn't going to be anyone's conquest. He was slightly shocked, but she wasn't the first to play hard to get. They usually gave in by the second or third try. But not Gwen!_

 _Finally, Roman had grown tired of her refusals. He planned on using his power to compel her into sleeping with him. So, he cornered her at her locker one day and stared her right in the eye. "Come with me to the janitor's closet," he commanded, "when we get there you'll take off your clothes and suck my cock."_

 _Gwen didn't even blink before slapping him in the face. "I don't know what kind of girl you think I am, but I will not be one of the notches you place on your bedpost."_

That was the first and only time he hadn't been able to mesmerize someone, and it made him all the more eager to have her. It was now a matter of pride.

* * *

Gwen had just made it across the street when she heard the shrill voice of her fanatically religious grandmother.

"Guinevere! Where have you been, you awful sinner?" The old woman was yelling from the driver's seat of her run down 1953 Austin A40.

"Nowhere, Nana," Gwen tried to assure her. "I was just taking a walk."

"Liar!" her grandmother screamed, "I can see the blush on your face, you little harlot. You were probably off kissing and groping some boy."

"No, Nana, I swear I was just walking. I wasn't with any boy."

"I don't believe you. Get in this car young lady, we're going home and you can once again learn what happens to girls who act like whores."

Gwen got into the car with a sad look. She knew that when she got home her grandmother would get the thin cane from the closet and give her a fair amount of lashes for this perceived indiscretion.

As Gwen rode in the car she thought back to what she saw in the parking lot. The truth was, she felt a bit of jealousy towards the woman in Roman's car. She'd had a crush on Roman Godfrey since freshman year, but knew it was nothing more than a hopeless fantasy. Roman didn't "date" and he didn't have "girlfriends". His relationships were simply sex and nothing more. What Gwen wanted was something deeper, more real, and that wasn't what Roman would be willing to give her.

What bothered her more were the dreams she'd been having. Ever since the day Roman had tried to get her to go into the janitor's closet with him she had a strange reoccurring dream.

 _Gwen was in a room with green walls and a full sized bed with a dark wood frame and silk sheet that were striped with two different colors of green. She was lying on the bed, on her back and Roman Godfrey was on top of her. It always took her a moment to get her bearings and realize that both she and Roman were naked and that Roman was thrusting his penis in and out of her vagina._

 _Once Gwen became aware of her surroundings, as well as her and her partner's nudity, she became aware of the pleasure resulting from Roman's member moving in and out of her. He was slow and gentle at first, but soon he began to speed up and his thrusts became harder as well. The pleasure increased in equal proportions to the increase in Roman's vigor and soon she was writhing and moaning. Soon the pleasure plateaued and Gwen reached her peak._

 _As the pleasure began to slowly ebb down, Gwen saw Roman rear his head back has his jaw stretched abnormally wide before he sunk his teeth in the side of Gwen's throat. As the blood began to flow into Roman's mouth and on to the bed, Gwen felt Roman's orgasm just before waking up._

Gwen held back a shiver, even after waking she could still feel Ronan's teeth ripping in to her skin, as well as the aftershocks of her nocturnal orgasm caused by the dream.

* * *

Hours later, Gwen sat on her bed, on her stomach so as not to not aggravate the wounds now on her back. She wished her grandmother was nicer and trusted that Gwen was a good person. But the truth was Gwen always seemed to be nothing more than a walking sin, as far as her grandmother was concerned. Nana Katherine had hated Guinevere's mother. A German atheist; Giselle Schneider was tall blonde and blue eyed. She often looked like one of those actresses from the Hollywood golden age. Gwen still had a picture of her parents that was taken on their wedding day. She had to keep it hidden, unless her grandmother were to burn it like she did all the other photos of Gwen's mother. Katherine had always believed that her son, Eidan, should have married a good catholic girl, and never forgave him for choosing the "German *Slapper".

Gwen parents had died in a car crash when Gwen was four years old. Also in the car was her baby brother fresh from the hospital. The car's breaks had failed and the car crashed into the back of a truck carrying long steel pipes, which as a result of the crash had impaled both her parents. Worse still another car rear ended theirs and her brother baby seat was crushed.

After their deaths Gwen was sent to live with her grandparents in Manhattan. Things were fine while her grandda had been alive, he kept Gwen shielded from "Katie-lass" and her religious zeal. But once grandda's heart attack took his life, three years after Gwen's parent's deaths, there was no one to protect Gwen from Katherine's fury. And everything Gwen did, even breathing, was a foul sin in Nana Katherine's eyes.

It was the last day of eighth grade when Gwen, at thirteen**, finally tried to tell someone, her favorite music teacher, what her Nana was doing to her. The teacher went to the authorities, but before they could come and investigate the claims, Nana Katherine had whisked herself and Gwen to Hemlock Groves. Gwen learned from that day to just take the canings and stay quiet; it was over quicker that way.

Gwen drifted off to sleep, hoping and dreading she'd have one of her dreams again.

* * *

A few hours later at the Godfrey mansion, Roman awoke from his own dream. It was strange, but he could still taste the spicy flavor of Gwen's blood on his tongue…

 **For those of you who read my other fanfic, The Orphan, I haven't abandoned it. I just took a step back to gather my thoughts and hopefully will have chapter five up in the next couple weeks. Until then here's a fanfiction about my new Netflix obsession, Hemlock Grove.**

 ***Slapper: Irish slang for a promiscuous young lady**

 ****Gwen skipped a grade in elementary school making her a year younger than Roman and Peter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Irish Hemlock

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of its characters. I do own Guinevere (Gwen) O'Malley.

 **The song is from Les Misérables and is sung by the character Eponine.**

 _Earlier that summer_

Gwen found a good tree to climb up. It had thick bark for her to cling to and sturdy branches for her to sit on while she sang. Ever since Gwen had told her music teacher back in NYC about her Nana's abuse, Nana no longer let Gwen sing. So, Gwen was forced to be crafty and sneak off into the woods to sing. Today she had a particular song she wished to sing.

Gwen had been walking down the street when she saw Roman Godfrey and some brunette in the alley exchanging saliva. He had the girl against the side of the building and his hand was already up her shirt feeling up her breasts, as one of her long slim legs was wrapped around his hips. The brunette used this leg as leverage to grind her crotch into Roman's. Roman seemed to enjoy her actions, if his increased vigor was any indication.

Gwen wasn't sure why she let this bother her. She knew his flirtations during the previous school year had been nothing more than Roman trying to use Gwen to ease his passing erection. So why then did Gwen want to cry when she saw Roman and the other girl? She was a fool, that's why. She had gotten it in her head that Roman's constant pursuance had meant that he felt more for her than simple lust and that maybe they could have been something _more_. Lucky for Gwen she had never given in to Roman's advances.

Reaching the level, she wanted on the tree; high enough that she couldn't be reached easily by someone on the ground, but not so high that she could cause herself too serious an injury should she fall.

Once she was settled on a branch she closed her eyes and took easy breaths, hoping she remembered the lyrics correctly. She may not of had the exact same situation as Eponine, but the song still hit pretty close to home.

 _Sometimes I walk alone at night  
When everybody else is sleeping.  
I think of him, and then I'm happy  
With the company I'm keeping.  
The city goes to bed,  
And I can live inside my head._

 _On my own,_  
 _Pretending he's beside me._  
 _All alone,_  
 _I walk with him 'til morning._  
 _Without him,_  
 _I feel his arms around me._  
 _And when I lose my way I close my eyes_  
 _And he has found me._

 _In the rain,_  
 _The pavement shines like silver._  
 _All the lights are misty in the river._  
 _In the darkness,_  
 _The trees are full of starlight._  
 _And all I see is him and me forever and forever._

 _And I know_  
 _It's only in my mind,_  
 _That I'm talking to myself_  
 _And not to him._  
 _And although I know that he is blind,_  
 _Still I say,_  
 _There's a way for us._

 _I love him,_  
 _But when the night is over he is gone._  
 _The river's just a river._  
 _Without him,_  
 _The world around me changes._  
 _The trees are bare and everywhere_  
 _The streets are full of strangers._

 _I love him,_  
 _But every day I'm learning_  
 _All my life,_  
 _I've only been pretending!_  
 _Without me,_  
 _His world will go on turning,_  
 _A world that's full of happiness that I have never known!_

 _I love him..._  
 _I love him..._  
 _I love him..._  
 _But only on my own..._

* * *

Peter Rumancek had just stepped out of his and his mother's new trailer, when he heard singing. Doubting that it was the young teen he'd met earlier, he goes to see who it was.

Peter had found where he thought the song was coming from, but nobody was there. He realized that the song was coming from above his head. He looked up and discovered a girl, probably about his own age, sitting in the tree singing about unrequited love. He listened as she finished, but figuring she didn't want to know her privacy had been invaded, he left before she could notice him.

Getting back to the trailer, Peter saw his mother standing outside.

"Did you hear singing?" she asked.

"Yep," Peter replied, "there's a girl out there sitting in a tree singing."

"Strange"

"She's got a good voice, though."

His mother smiled before ushering him inside for dinner.

* * *

Gwen climbed down out of the tree, knowing if she didn't get home soon her Nana would be giving Gwen another caning. Gwen made it home ten minutes before her grandmother did.

Nana Katherine stormed in raving about 'gypsy trash" and how they should all be burned in their beds.

"What's wrong with gypsies?" Gwen asked. "Just because they live a different lifestyle then everyone else, it doesn't automatically make them bad."

Katherine glared at her granddaughter. "They are the sons and daughters of Cain, and they'll burn in hell for all eternity."

Gwen just shook her head and went up to her room. She would never understand her Nana's hatred for anyone who didn't think the same way she did. _'Isn't our differences part of God's plan to enhance the beauty of his creation?'_ Gwen wondered.

* * *

A few days later Gwen knocked on her neighbor's door. Her best friend Letha Godfrey lived here with her parent Marie and Norman. Norman worked as a therapist at Hemlock Acres and Marie was a housewife. Letha was also Roman's cousin.

The door opened and Letha squealed before enveloping Gwen in a hug, which nearly caused Gwen to drop the bags of baking supplies she had in her hand.

Letha pulled Gwen into the house and immediately started grilling her. "How are you? Is everything okay at your house?" Letha suspected that there was something going on between Gwen and Katherine, but Gwen remained tight lipped on the subject. "What do have in the bags?"

Gwen shook her head with a smile. "Are your parents, home?"

"Yeah." Letha said as she pointed to the den.

"Thanks"

Walking into the den, Gwen once again felt a small surge of envy for all that Letha had. She had a beautiful home, not that Gwen's house was hideous, just miserable, and Letha had parent that loved her. Gwen just had an angry religious grandmother who despised every breath Gwen took. Not that Gwen would begrudge Letha's good fortune. Letha was one of the kindest and least judgmental people Gwen knew. Only sweet, but disfigured, Shelly Godfrey was nicer.

Seeing Norman and Marie sitting and reading, Gwen approached them with her request. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey, would it be okay if I use your oven? A new family moved to Hemlock Grove and I'd like to bake them some cookies, and my Nana won't let me make sweets in her house."

Of course, Gwen didn't mention that if her grandmother knew that Gwen was baking cookies to welcome gypsies to Hemlock Grove, then Gwen wouldn't be able to sit down for a week.

"What new people?" asked Mrs. Godfrey.

"The ones in the trailer by the river," Gwen replied.

"The gypsies!" Marie exclaimed.

"Gypsy, or not, they're new to the area and deserve to be treated to the same decency as any other human being," Gwen emphasized.

"I see no problem with you using our stove, Gwen, just make sure you clean up afterwards," Mr. Godfrey essentially put an end to his wife's burgeoning argument.

"However," Mrs. Godfrey persisted, "perhaps you shouldn't go down there alone. Maybe we could ask Roman to escort you. Then we'll know you're safe."

 _'Are we thinking of the same Roman?'_ "I think I'd be safer with a convicted sex offender," Gwen muttered.

"What was that dear?" Marie asked.

Judging by the smirk on Norman's face, he'd heard her words perfectly.

"I said I'm sure Roman is far too busy to escort me anywhere. I'm sure, however, that I'll be just fine."

"Well, if you're sure."

"I am," Gwen assured Mrs. Godfrey, before turning and heading to the kitchen.

"I heard what you really said about Roman."

Gwen turned and saw Letha behind her, smiling.

"Look. I know he's your cousin and you care about him, and he for you, but to the rest of the female population, not related to him by blood, he's a walking hard-on. Or as me grandda would say, *Níl Tada Níos Measa Na Bód Ina Seasamh."

"What?!" two voices asked at the same time.

Gwen turned around to see the topic of her and Letha's conversation standing in the doorway.

Roman was smirking at the sight of Gwen and it sent her to a level of pissed off she hadn't been to before. She hadn't forgotten about him and the leggy brunette from earlier in the week.

Keeping up her calm composer, Gwen rolled her eyes and stated, **"Labhair an diabhal, agus cuirfidh sé an diabhal le feiceáil."

As if Roman knew Gwen was insulting him he kept the smirk and swaggered up to her.

"How is my beautiful Irish lass?" he asked.

"I'm not _your_ anything, Godfrey" Gwen spat back.

Temporarily ignoring his cousins, Roman brought his lips close to Gwen's ear. "You could be, and I bet you'd enjoy it."

Pushing Roman away, Gwen looked at him and said, "How many times do I have to tell you this before it gets through that thick skull of yours; I'm not interested in hooking up with you. I find the idea of a sexual relationship, with no strings, repellant."

"One day, Irish, I will have you moaning and screaming my name."

"Roman!" Letha exclaimed. She didn't understand Roman's constant antagonizing pursuit of Gwen. Sure, Gwen was stunning, there was no question about that, but Gwen's moral compass wouldn't allow her to have a meaningless fling. Gwen wanted commitment, not empty sex. Letha had expected Roman to get bored and give up by now, but for some reason Roman persisted in his chase.

Letha was honestly considering the idea of talking this over with Ramon's mother, Letha's aunt, Olivia. Maybe Olivia could shed some light on her son's odd behavior.

As if as summoned by Letha's own thoughts, her dad called out to Roman, telling the boy his mother called and Roman was supposed to meet her twenty minutes ago.

Once Roman had departed from the house, Letha and Gwen started making the cookies.

 ***** **Níl Tada Níos Measa Na Bód Ina Seasamh: Irish Gaelic, which basically means There's Nothing Worse than a Walking Prick**

 ****** **Labhair an diabhal, agus cuirfidh sé an diabhal le feiceáil: means Speak of the Devil, and the Devil Shall Appear.**

 **I know Roman is coming off as an ass and it seems as if Gwen hates him, but once school and the murders start they will get closer.**


	3. Chapter 3

Irish Hemlock

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of its characters. I do own Guinevere (Gwen) O'Malley.

Later that same day, Gwen walked down the worn wooden steps at the side of the highway. This was where the old gypsy Vincent Rumancek used to live before he died of alcohol poisoning. She hoped the new people were as nice as Vince was. He may have told some weird stories, but he was still nice, and Gwen often brought him meals.

Making it to the door, Gwen gave a few light knocks and waited for the residents to respond. The door opened and a young man stood on the other side. He had his hair grown to his chin and a scruffy beard; his eyes were a paler green then her own, and all in all, he was quite handsome.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked.

"Hello," Gwen greeted, "I've backed some cookies to welcome you to Hemlock Grove."

"Um, thank you; not many would welcome 'our kind'"

"That's because no matter where you go, you'll never find a shortage if ignorance," Gwen replied with a cheerful smile.

"Peter," a voice called from inside the home, "who's at the door."

"A girl," the teen, apparently named Peter, replied. "She brought us cookies to welcome us to the town."

A woman came to stand behind the guy. She was older and Gwen noticed enough similarities to assume that the woman was either the boy's mother or his aunt.

"Hello, my name is Gwen O'Malley, and I thought I'd give you guys a proper welcome, as I doubt anyone else has."

"That's for sure," Peter said under his breathe.

"Gwen? Is that, by any chance, short for Guinevere?" the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Gwen answered. She was curious as to how this woman knew her name.

The woman suddenly smiled. "My brother Vince used to tell me about you all the time. My name is Lynda Rumancek and this is my son Peter"

"It's lovely to meet you both. Vince was… an interesting person."

She saw Peter smirk at her description.

"Yeah," Lynda agreed, "Vince was quite the character. But he talked about you, said you were the Irish _gadje_ who brought him dinner every Sunday."

"That's me." Gwen looked down at her feet; she was never very good at receiving compliments.

"Well, come in," Lynda said as she made a "come in" gesture with her hand.

Gwen walked into the trailer and was lead to a couch.

"There are three types of cookies," Gwen explained, "Sugar cookies, chocolate chip, and white chocolate macadamia. I wasn't sure which you'd like, or if there were any allergies you may have."

"That's very kind," Lynda stated. She placed the cookies on the counter and took the cover off. There were at least a dozen and a half of each type of cookie; more than they'd be able to eat in the next couple of days, so Lynda would probably end up putting some in the freezer.

Peter looked closely at their guest; he'd seen her some place before. Then it struck him where he had seen her. "You have a nice voice," Peter suddenly said.

Gwen looked at the boy curiously, "What do mean?"

"I heard you out there singing, the other day," Peter explained. "You were sitting in a tree."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gwen stated sincerely. "I didn't mean to disturb anyone."

"You didn't," Peter assured her. "Like I said, you have a nice voice and the song, itself, was beautiful. You sang it as if you had personal experience with the subject of the song."

Knowing which song, she had been singing, Gwen replied, "One-sided love is hardly a new story. Many have experienced it before me, and many will experience it long after I'm gone." Gwen was deliberately being vague.

"Any guy who doesn't have feeling for you is a fool."

"He has feelings, just not the right ones."

"What does that meaning?" Peter asked.

"It means, that he only sees me as another quickie, and that's something I will never be." Gwen looked out the window, and seeing the sun's position stood and said, "I need to get home, my Nana will be very cross if I'm late getting home."

Peter and Lynda both thanked her again before she left with a smile and a wave.

* * *

Peter looked at the door that the girl had just left through with a confused look. So much repressed power.

"You felt it too?" Lynda asked her son.

"Yeah," Peter answered, "She has a lot of power buried deep and it's ready to break out."

"You should get a hold of Destiny," Lynda said, referring to Peter's psychic cousin. "The girl's going to need help controlling it, or else it going to hurt her and everyone around her."

"Yeah," Peter said already wondering what this girl and her power could mean for him and his family.

* * *

Gwen had just walked in the door when she was suddenly slapped in the face with a bible.

"What were you doing in the home of those sinners, you wretch?" Nana Katherine demanded.

"I don't know what you're taking about," Gwen tried to lie.

"Don't you lie to me!" Katherine screeched. "Sheriff Sworn saw you go into that gypsy trailer."

' _Shouldn't the sheriff keep things somewhat confidential?_ ' Gwen thought. "I was just trying to be kind to them, they're just people."

"They're sinners and sorcerers, and I told you to stay away from them. Now go take you shirt and bra off; I apparently need to beat the sin out of you again."

Gwen did as her grandmother asked and revealed a back that was covered in welts, bruises, and scars from previous canings.

Katherine had just made it to thirty strokes when the cane went flying from her hand. She figured the cane had just slipped and said to Gwen, "My arm is tired; go to your closet and pray."

Gwen limped to the closet and closed the door. She prayed for her grandmother to stop the canings and for a way to break free from the prison her grandmother had forced upon her.

* * *

Hours later Gwen staggered up the stairs to bathe and go to bed. When she got to her room she stared at her reflection in the mirror above her dresser. She hated her life and her situation. She wanted to run away, but her Nana was the only family Gwen had, and family was supposed to stick together. Right?

Gwen's mental frustration rose till it pressed against her skull. Suddenly the mirror shook until it shattered into large fractures that spilled across Gwen dresser and floor. Hoping the sound hadn't woken her Nana, Gwen examined her mirror. ' _What's happening?_ ' she wondered.

That night Gwen dreamed of a wolf running and leaving paw prints in the mud. She got the sense that those paw prints would be important, somehow…

 **Well, thank you for the favorites and review. This story was actually a spur of the moment thing. It's good to know people like it.**

 **For those of you who have seen the end of season one, you'll understand the sight of the paw print in Gwen's dream.**


	4. Chapter 4

Irish Hemlock

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of its characters. I do own Guinevere (Gwen) O'Malley.

 **For those who may be confused, chapter one took place a few days before school would start. So it would be the end of August. The chapters after that take place mid-July, but the timeline will be back on track once school starts.**

 **The song is "The Rose" by Bette Midler.**

Gwen, once again, sat in a tree. She decided to sing a Bette Midler song she heard on the radio at the boutique she went to with Letha. Another song about love, but this time with undertone of hope.

 _Some say love, it is a river  
That drowns the tender reed.  
Some say love, it is a razor  
That leaves your soul to bleed.  
Some say love, it is a hunger,  
An endless aching need.  
I say love, it is a flower,  
And you its only seed._

 _It's the heart afraid of breaking_  
 _That never learns to dance._  
 _It's the dream afraid of waking_  
 _That never takes the chance._  
 _It's the one who won't be taken,_  
 _Who cannot seem to give,_  
 _And the soul afraid of dyin'_  
 _That never learns to live._

 _When the night has been too lonely_  
 _And the road has been too long,_  
 _And you think that love is only_  
 _For the lucky and the strong,_  
 _Just remember in the winter_  
 _Far beneath the bitter snows_  
 _Lies the seed that with the sun's love_  
 _In the spring becomes the rose._

* * *

Peter was sitting on the hammock outside his trailer when he heard the singing. ' _Gwen must be out again,_ ' he thought.

He decided to get closer, in order to hear her singing better.

It was near the full moon and Peter's senses were heightened, so he found Gwen a lot quicker. He also recognized the song. His mom was a fan of Bette Midler, though she wouldn't admit it.

Peter waited for Gwen to finish her song. Then called up, "Hey, Nightingale!"

Gwen looked down and saw Peter at the base of the tree. She waved to him and climbed down from her perch.

"Sorry," Gwen said. "Am I disturbing you again?"

"You weren't disturbing anyone, last time," Peter replied.

"Is this your girlfriend?" a voice to Peter's right asked.

Both, Peter and Gwen, turned to see a small girl with long, slightly frizzy, brown hair.

Gwen recognized her as Christina Wendall, the self-claimed novelist, who often went around asking about people's motivations. She was a sweet girl, though Gwen didn't understand why the girl hangs out with the Sworn twins; those two are high school skanks in the making.

"Hi, Christina," Gwen greeted, "how have you been?"

"Pretty good," Christina replied. "Are you and the gypsy dating?"

Peter raised his eyebrow at the younger girl's question. He was curious how Gwen would respond.

"The gypsy's name is Peter," Gwen said. "Their people, too, Christine, don't let the prejudices of others color your perception. And, no, we're not dating; we're just friends."

Christina tilted her head to the side. Then shrugged. She wanted to ask more, but her phone chirped. Checking it, she saw it was a text from one of the twins. "I have to go," Christina said, "I'm meeting Alexa and Alyssa to go shopping." With that said, Christina turned and walked back the way she came.

"Poor girl," Gwen sighed, once Christina was out of earshot. "How is she supposed to develop her own personality when she hangs out with sheriff's twins."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Alexa and Alyssa may be the sheriff's daughters, but they're trouble. They're manipulative and cruel to others. They get a kick out of bullying others and both have been gossiping all around town how they lost their virginity, last summer. They continuously try to turn poor Christina into their artificial triplet." Gwen couldn't say enough about how much she disliked those two.

"Hm," Peter said. "So we're friends?"

Gwen looked at Peter and smiled. "If you want to be. You're sweet, but I'm not really interested in anything more than friendship."

"That's fine," Peter assured Gwen. "I think I'd be competing for your full affections anyway."

Gwen blushed and stammered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Peter laughed, then asked, "Why do you come out here, anyway?"

"My Nana says singing is a sin."

"But you were just singing."

"And Nana can't hear it way out here."

Peter smiled at that.

Gwen looked at the position of the sun and said, "I've got to get going"

"See ya later, Nightingale."

* * *

Letha knocked on the door of the Godfrey mansion, hoping that Roman wasn't home. One of the maids, Constance, answered.

"Mr. Roman is not here, Miss Letha," Constance said, once she saw who was at the door.

"I'm actually here to see Olivia," Letha explained.

"She is in the foyer." Constance told Letha.

Letha walked to the foyer in search of her aunt. Olivia sat in one of the bar chairs with a newspaper. She looked up when Letha walked into the room.

"Letha," Olivia stated, "how wonderful to see you, darling. Roman's not here at the moment, but I'm sure if you or I give him a call, he'll be back in soon."

"Actually," Letha spoke quickly, "I came to speak with you."

"Whatever about?" Had Letha learned about her father and Olivia's affair, now that Norman had ended it months ago. Or was it… No, Letha knew nothing about earlier this summer, Olivia had made sure of it.

"It's about Roman; I'm concerned about him."

"Why?" Olivia sat up straight, suddenly. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, not exactly. You see, about three months before school let out for summer, Roman started flirting with my friend, Gwen."

"And?" Olivia asked, thinking her niece was simply jealous.

"Well, Gwen isn't the type to sleep around, in fact, Gwen has confided in me that she's a virgin. She doesn't care for sex with no attachment. I thought that this would become clear to Roman after a few days, maybe a few weeks, and then he'd move on to any other girl who'd give in. But he instead has become more insistent. I know that it seriously bothers Gwen, as she told me that he blatantly told her to go with him to the janitor closet and, excuse my language, suck him off. She said he looked her straight in the eye, with a strange look, like he expected her to do as he commanded without protest. He was quite shocked when she slapped him instead."

Olivia was intrigued. If the look Letha, and this Gwen, were talking about was the one Olivia believed it to be, then Gwen should have done whatever Roman told the girl to do. Gwen should not have been able to have any control, certainly not enough to slap Roman.

"I was hoping," Letha continued, "you could talk to Roman and make him back off. Unless he's willing to offer Gwen some sort of affection, other than physical, she won't give him the time of day."

"I'll have a word with him, dear. Have I met this Gwen?" Olivia was curious of the girl her son had pursued for so long and been unable to acquire.

"She's my neighbor," Letha stated. "and one of my best friends at school. She the one with the strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes. She's usually next to me when we get out of school and on to the bus."

Olivia quickly scanned her own memory for such a girl and came up blank. She rarely payed attention to most of the children, except her own.

"Well, as I said," Olivia spoke, "I'll talk to Roman. There's no reason for him to be terrorizing your neighbor and friend."

"Thank you, Aunt Olivia." With that, Letha stood and left.

Olivia rested her head thoughtfully on her hand. She may have to meet this Gwen for herself. Olivia had never known her son to hold any interest in a girl for more than a few days. And no one was ever able to resist an upire's compelling command. This Gwen may be very special, indeed.

* * *

It was nearing sundown on the evening of the full moon, and Gwen refused to climb down from the tree and go home. Nana was cross, due to the fact that Roman had come up to her and Gwen in the street earlier and started flirting with Gwen. When Nana had told him to go away Roman had turned around and told her to "mind your own business, you wrinkled hag" and this only angered Katherine further. However, Roman's mother had driven up to the curb at that moment and had Roman get in the vehicle. Roman did so, but not without turning and telling Gwen he'd see her soon and giving her a wink.

Gwen had managed to slip away from her grandmother before they got home; sparing herself another lashing.

Now Gwen sat up in a tree watching the sun set and wondered if her grandmother would send a search party out looking for Gwen. She hoped not, Gwen didn't want to inconvenience anyone.

Suddenly, just as the sun was only halfway gone, Gwen heard a snapping sound. Looking down at the ground she saw Peter Rumancek standing slightly hunched and bare naked. Gwen was about to turn away when Peter contorted and Gwen heard the snapping sound again. She now realized the sound was coming from Peter's bones. Peter's flesh seemed to tear, and shred, falling off Peter's body leaving fur covered limbs in its wake. Peter's mouth gaped open and a muzzle forced its way out. Gwen sat silently and watched as a wolf seemed to rip its way out from inside Peter.

Gwen kept silent, mostly from fear, but a part of her mind still capable of rational thought knew that if she made a sound the wolf/man would hear her. And Gwen knew she was better off without its attention.

Waiting until Peter, or the wolf, was gone; Gwen climbed out of the tree, which was thankfully near the edge of the woods, next the road. Once she was on the road Gwen practically sprinted home. She still couldn't believe what she had seen. Peter was a werewolf…

 **I'm not sure if any of you saw the irony(?) of** _ **Peter**_ **'s name paired with his ability to turn into a** _ **wolf**_ **. Those of you who don't know what I mean should look up a certain song by Sergei Prokofiev.**

 **Gwen has no attraction to Peter, he will be paired with Letha… for now.**


	5. Chapter 5

Irish Hemlock

By Anastacia Lynn

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of its characters. I do own Guinevere (Gwen) O'Malley.

Gwen was almost to her house when she remembered why she had been in the woods to begin with. After what she had just seen, Gwen could not deal with her grandmother's anger. Gwen, instead, opted to go to Hemlock Acres. There was an old abandoned church on the grounds that she had utilized many times before. After all, if Nana Katherine thought Gwen was a sinner, the last place she'd look for Gwen was a church, abandoned or otherwise.

Once Gwen had gone into the church, she dusted off one of the pews that still remained and lied down to sleep. No sooner had she nodded off then she began to dream

 _Gwen once again saw the wolf running and leaving paw prints. This time however she saw a second wolf, a shy reclusive wolf who hid in the trees and watched the first with utter longing. After the first wolf had gone, the second came out from the trees and looked down at one of the paw prints left by the first wolf. There was a small amount of water pooling in the impression, and the reclusive wolf bent its head down and drank it. Suddenly, as if a switch has been flicked, the shy wolf became enraged, its black fur started turning white. It looked up, spotted Gwen, and leapt at her._

Gwen sprung up in the pew where she was sleeping. She could still feel the wolf's teeth tearing into her stomach. She looked down, just to assure herself it really was just a dream.

Gwen saw the sun shining through the stained-glass windows of the old church, and decided she had hid from grandmother for long enough. It was time to face the music.

* * *

Two days later, Gwen stumbled through the woods, her back still felt awful from the beating her Nana Katherine had given her when she stayed the night at the old church. When Gwen returned, her grandmother had given her a record fifty lashes. Gwen had wanted to spend the rest of the day in bed recuperating, but Nana wouldn't allow such laziness. Gwen spent that day and the next scrubbing the downstairs rooms from top to bottom.

Gwen felt almost certain the wounds were infected, but she couldn't go to a doctor without raising incertitude.

"Hey, Nightingale!" a male voice, Gwen recognized as Peter's, shouted from her right.

Gwen tried to stand up straight, and look as if nothing was wrong. "Hi, Peter, I'm just getting some fresh air."

Her face must have given something away because Peter instantly became suspicious. "Are you okay? You look like you're in pain."

"Never better. I should get going, though. I promised a friend I'd go shopping with her today," Gwen lied. She took three steps and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Peter quickly went to help Gwen and saw blood seeping through the back of her shirt. Knowing he couldn't take her to the hospital, they would accuse him of hurting her, Peter picked up Gwen in his arms and started carrying her back to the trailer. He hoped his mother would know what to do.

Lynda was already outside the trailer and she was on the phone. She looked at Peter, pointed to the door and said, "Take her inside; Destiny will be here in a few minutes."

Doing as his mom told him, Peter took Gwen into the trailer and laid her, belly down, on the couch. He sat in the arm chair next to the couch and waited for his cousin to arrive. He hoped Destiny can help Gwen. He sensed that Gwen had a gift, maybe more than one and they could be good or bad; Peter knew Destiny would be able to shed some light on this.

* * *

Gwen woke up on a strange couch and an odd sensation on her back. It was a pleasant tingling that was a huge improvement to the burning pain she'd been dealing with for the last two days. Looking up at her surroundings she noticed three people staring at her. Two of them were Peter and his mom, the other was a young woman that Gwen had never seen before.

"I guess I have some explaining to do," Gwen stated calmly.

"Who did this to you?" Peter asked.

"Before I answer," Gwen replied. "Who is that?" She pointed to the stranger in the room.

With a smile the girl introduced herself. "My name is Destiny Rumancek, I'm Peter's cousin. And Lynda's niece, obviously."

"Nice to meet you, and to answer Peter's question; my Nana did this. She says it's to remove sin."

"Yikes, what 'sin' did you commit?" Destiny asked.

"A boy from my school flirted with me in front of her and insulted her when she tried to tell him off. Then, before she could punish me for it, I snuck off and hid out in town till the next day."

"Did you flirt back?"

"No, this guy is only interested in a quick hook up."

"Is he the same one you hold a candle for?" asked Peter.

All three women glared at Peter causing him to hold up his hands in surrender. "I was just asking."

"What's on my back?" asked Gwen

"A healing salve," Destiny replied. "Your wounds aren't healing properly by themselves. You also have an infection, and I imagine you don't want to go to the hospital and have to explain this to the authorities."

"Definitely not," was Gwen's response.

Gwen looked at Peter with caution. She took a deep breath and said, "I saw you, Peter, the other night. I saw you turn into a wolf on the full moon."

The Rumanceks froze for a minute, none of them saying a word.

"Look," Gwen explained, "your secret's safe with me. After the weirdness that's been happening to me, lately, I'm hardly one to judge."

"What weirdness, exactly," Lynda asked cautiously.

Gwen didn't respond at first. She instead focused on the tall glass one of them left on the coffee table. The Rumanceks turned to see what Gwen was staring at, just in time to see the glass slide along the table; before it floated up and over to wear Gwen had reached her hand out. It went right into her hand.

All three gypsies were shocked.

"It started a few weeks ago, I was upset over my Nana chastising me about welcoming you two into town and I made my mirror shatter."

"Did you tell your Nana about it," Lynda asked, worried.

"No," Gwen said quickly. "My Nana's so old school, she would take Exodus 22:18 literally."

"Huh?" asked Peter, confused.

"The book of Exodus, chapter twenty-two, verse eighteen, says: 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live", my Nana would see _this_ as sorcery."

"You think your grandmother would kill you?" Destiny clarified.

"I don't know, for sure, but I'd rather not find out." Gwen looked at the people around the room. "Look, I know your secret and now you know mine. We're even."

"Has anything else been happening?" Destiney asked.

"I've been having a strange dream about a person with the ability to elongate their jaw biting me and draining my blood." Gwen saw the widened eyes of the others and said quickly, "I'm sure everyone has had a vampire dream, at least once, especially after the whole Twilight phenomenon. It means nothing."

Gwen could see the Rumancek family was not convinced. "Look, I better go or my Nana is going to be cross, again. Thanks for your help and please don't tell anyone about what my Nana does. The last time I told anyone she forced us to move before the police and social services could take me away."

"Why don't you just leave? Get away from the old woman?" Peter asked suddenly.

"She's the only family I have left, and family sticks together."

Lynda made Peter turn away as Destiny helped Gwen into her shirt.

"Thanks again," Gwen said as she walked to the door. She opened the door, but before leaving she turned to Peter and said, "Be careful of where you leave your paw prints. You never know how people will react to the sight a wolf tracks." ' _Or what something might do with them_ ' she thought silently.

After Gwen left Destiny turned to the rest of her family and said, "You were right about her having power, but I don't know where it's leading. And did either of you mention Upirs to that girl?"

Both Peter and Lynda shook their heads no. What can this girl be?

 **Thanks for the reviews, as well as the favorites and follows. To answer one reviewers question there will be more Roman and Gwen scenes soon. Either the next chapter or the one after. It depends on where I fit in the scene of Roman, Letha, and Gwen at the fair.**

 **I'm currently working on the fifth chapter for** **The Orphan** **as well as a new story called** **Folie á Deux** **, which is set in the TV series Hannibal. I'm sure taking on three separate stories in three different fandoms is going to be somewhat overwhelming, but I want to right and post them before they disappear from my brain.**

 **Apologies for the wait I had some editing troubles. I apparently can't keep my word tenses in proper order.**


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